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Internships can create opportunities, accelerate your career growth, and prepare you for your first post-college role. They aren't about making coffee runs and photocopying documents – they're like personal brand-building boot camps. Landing an internship and making the most of it can open doors, supercharge your career growth, and forge lifelong connections with business movers and shakers in pathways that matter to you.
So, what is an internship and who is it for?
An internship is temporary gig that lets you dip your toes into the real-world work experience pool. Usually aimed at college students or freshly minted grads, internships can be paid or unpaid, but they all can pay off in the long run. Many colleges offer course credit for the knowledge you gain in an internship, and some organizations require that you be enrolled for course credit so that you’ll have additional incentive to perform at a high level of excellence. Your internship might even include an opportunity to spend a semester living in a different city. Jeffrey Lackey, CEO of JKL Advisors, notes that “smart companies are pipelining talent with organizations like Year Up and Skills for America’s Future—where they enter zip codes where great talent exists but the opportunity divide is great. Specialized internships here may be different from your typical Junior in college, but the benefits have proven to be outstanding for the multi-generational impact on the families of the intern.”
What’s in it for the company?
Great companies invest in their interns not only through salary but through priceless on-the-job training and skill development. Internships are a way for companies to recruit and train motivated, high-potential early-career talent into roles where leaders can shape them. The best internships are like really long job interviews, providing managers with a chance to observe your skills, personality, and potential fit within the organization. Lackey points out that “these interns, if converted at a rate of 60%+, will ultimately serve as a solid foundation of talent for your business at all levels of your organization—enabling high performance to be regularly achieved over time.”
How long do internships last?
Most internships take place during those sweet summer breaks, spanning around 12 weeks. But sometimes you can enjoy them during the fall or spring semester, usually with fewer hours per week. While the typical 40-hour workweek isn't always set in stone, there's flexibility in terms of duration and weekly commitments. Even though they take time away from tanning at the beach or getting paid to do a repetitive, familiar summer job that gives your brain a little bit of a break, investing in an internship will pay dividends way beyond the paycheck you receive. In a way, an internship can last long after graduation if it turns into a great full-time position.
Is an unpaid internship worth it?
Your first choice should always be a paid internship, but if you’re majoring in a field where most internships are uncompensated, you can still reap some serious rewards. Internships boost your confidence, setting you apart from other candidates when you embark on your first job hunt as a recent grad. They enhance your professional pedigree (especially when you work for a revered brand or a thought-leader in your area of expertise) and they enable you to build and expand your professional network.
Internships go beyond being a lab where you can hone the technical skills you’ve been learning at school. They allow you to collaborate with seasoned professionals and build all-important soft skills that are essential for career success. Soft skills (also called social skills) enable you to make things happen in the world of work and they’re essential for effective leadership. Focusing on your soft skills early in your career will help get past your jitters and feel more comfortable sharing your ideas and responding to feedback.
Sondra Dryer, former Head of Employer Brand at Amazon Stores and founder of Spark Employer Brand Partners, put it this way, “From my own personal experience, internships are the best way to both build your resume and test the waters on a potential career path. They can also be an opportunity to travel abroad as many universities offer student exchange internship programs even after graduation. My university career services center helped me intern in London through the BUNAC program, working in private banking. I found interning with non-profits, though unpaid, gave me the greatest opportunity to both manage a project from start to finish and gain leadership experience, which helped boost my resume and stand out from the competition."
How do I land an internship?
Before you head to your school’s career center, clarify your goals and do some research on the role, industry and location you desire (in the hybrid world of work, many internships are now remote). The scattergun approach will waste your time and dilute your personal brand message.
You will be googled during the internship hiring process, so make sure the digital you is just as interesting and compelling as the flesh-and-bones you. Create or update your LinkedIn profile so it positions you ideally for the role you seek. Make it specific so you can show relevance to those who are evaluating you. Your digital brand communicates your first impression, so take it seriously.
After those two steps, you’re ready to tap into your school's career services, including attending career fairs to gain interviewing experience and connect with potential internship providers. Scour company websites and LinkedIn company pages for internship opportunities. Use online sites to help identify those employers that hire interns.
And don't forget the power of your network. Yes, you do have connections! Use LinkedIn to explore connections at your dream companies and engage with alumni from your school who work there. Don't be shy to reach out and inquire about internship possibilities. Professors, teachers, mentors and even neighbors can provide important connections. If your dream company doesn’t offer an internship, you can pitch the idea to their human-resources office. It pays to be persistent.
Above all, internships help you discover more about your strengths and aspirations, and a high level of self-awareness is the foundation of successful leadership. So buckle up, embrace the adventure, give it your all and enjoy the valuable career skills you'll acquire along the way.
William Arruda is a keynote speaker, co-founder of CareerBlast.TV and creator of the 360Reach Personal Brand Survey that helps you get candid, meaningful feedback from people who know you.
